South Africa this April with Kids - recommended activities

[Itsallicanafford]

Good morning all, can I ask for some advice for any recommended activities for our Trip to South Africa this April.

Itinerary is the Garden route, 3 Nights cape Town (staying at the waterfront) then overnight at Swellendam, 3 Nights Plettenburg, 3 Nights St Francis Bay, 2 Nights Game reserve the flying from Port Elizabeth.

Children 10 and 12, both very active, the 12 year old loves climbing and heights.

We are purposely staying away from Wine areas as would prefer more family activities.

So far I have hiking up table mountain and a visit to beach with penguins but that's about it.

I know we are out of Whale season but would like to do a Dolphin tour somewhere?

Any advice would be great!

Cheers

[SunsetZed]

A tour of the cape is good fun, you can do a full day from Cape Town or drive down yourself if you'll have a rental car at that point.

The boat trip out to Robben Island and a tour of this with the history is also interesting, maybe slightly less so in parts for kids but the history is important and they'll enjoy the boat ride.

For the dolphin trip no recommendations but remember that the sea can get pretty rough along there!

Boulders Beach near Simon's Town is the one for penguins.

[djc206]

I typed a response but it must have upset some sort of filter, possibly because I tried to recommend a cab company in Plett. So this is a shorter version.

Cape Town - hike lions head. Hike table mountain, we really enjoyed Kasteelspoort trail this time via the diving board. Cable car down.

Cape Canopy Tours zipline on the way to Swellendam.

Shark diving in Gansbaai?

Plett - hike around Robberg island, you’ll see and smell seals. The big fish restaurant, excellent. Barringtons microbrewery and restaurant. Zinzi’s just outside town on a lovely estate. I have a cab company I can recommend via PM if you need.

Near Plett - Bloukrans bridge bungee jump
Tsitsikamma National Park, Untouched Adventures kayak trip up the river, the viewpoint hike.
Beach at Natures Valley, small restaurant at the western end, both car parks have toilet facilities so a good place for a beach day.

Feel free to ask questions, we drove that route a few weeks ago so it’s all still fresh.

[djc206]

Sorry just remembered the dolphin bit. You can kayak with them from the Cape Town area. My wife has found Kayak Adventures Cape Town for our next visit, we couldn’t do it this time because it was too choppy.

[Voodoo Blue]

I was working down there for a couple of weeks a few years go so only had a couple of days for sightseeing. Table mountain is a must, try to go later in the day and come down on the cable car after dusk, the views after dark are equally good. We rented some bikes from the V&A waterfront and rode down the coast to Camps Bay for lunch. Lots of places on the way for some good pictures.

Edited by Voodoo Blue on Thursday 23 February 10:50

[Itsallicanafford]

thanks for all the replies so far, much appreciated. Will give all the recommendations a bit of research, sounds like some great ideas, thanks again.

[r3g]

You do realise that South Africa basically doesn't have any power these days, yes? I have relatives in Jo'burg and a friend in Cape Town and the power is out for at least a third of every day so nothing functions. It's not a good place to be and crime is off the scale.

[djc206]

r3g said:

You do realise that South Africa basically doesn't have any power these days, yes? I have relatives in Jo'burg and a friend in Cape Town and the power is out for at least a third of every day so nothing functions. It's not a good place to be and crime is off the scale.

Load shedding whilst bad for residents isn’t as much of an issue for tourists as most of the places visitors go have generators.

It’s a fantastic place to be. One of the nicest places on earth in fact.

Tourists aren’t likely to be affected by crime either for what it’s worth.

OP don’t let the naysayers ruin your trip. I’ve been many times and will be going back twice more this year because we both absolutely love the country, it’s people, the food and wine. It’s not without its flaws (Eskom being a pretty big flaw) but it’s nothing that can’t be coped with by a visitor.

[Boxster5]

As we are more accustomed to the wine areas, I can only comment on the Cape Town area.
If you are staying in Atlantic Marina, you can paddle board or kayak around the canal there and I think also the harbour.
It’s worth doing the Cape Town City Sightseeing bus tour as it takes you on a big loop (there’s more than one route) that takes in Camps Bay (not our sort of place as it was very busy) but also Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens among others.
Worth doing is a “free” walking tour around Bo Kaap area within Cape Town centre (don’t do it yourselves as it’s a bit of a dodgy area) - a riot of colourful houses with a very photogenic Mark 2 Ford Cortina!
As someone has said, Boulders Beach is where the African penguin colony is located & worth seeing (there is another colony at Betty’s Bay).
Whilst in Cape Town, you could visit the aquarium and just behind it is a seal platform which has lots of Fur Seals basking on a deck (they stink!) and you’re likely to see otters too.
Robben Island is OK but to be honest I wasn’t blown away - the highlight for me was the boat trip!
As others have said, South Africa is a stunning country well worth seeing - the scenery & big blue skies are spectacular. We absolutely love it (we’ve been 3 times and planning our 4th for next February) & your money will go a long way.
Loadshedding is an issue but to be honest you work around it and most bars & restaurants have generators. Generally each loadshedding (read planned power cut) lasts around 2 to 2.5 hours but you can download an app to check when it is forecast.
Crime is overplayed - as long as you’re sensible & don’t flash your cash or valuables, you should be fine.
Remember when you park your car, you will probably be approached by a “parking guard” when you return - give them a few rand & they’ll be happy.
Enjoy your trip.

[Dblue]

Lots of good suggestions here - I would add that the False Bay shark population is absent now , scared off by resident Orcas apparently!
Don't be too worried about crime , stay away from downtown Cape Town and the cape flats.
Check if there's anything going on at Newlands , end of the cricket season and early for rugby but Newlands is the most beautiful cricket ground on earth.
Botanical Gardens are fantastic,
Road trip down to Cape of Good Hope with Ostriches and Baboons by the roadside is ace
Hire a couple of Cobra replicas and drive out to Hout Bay and Chapmans Peak www.cobraexperience.co.za
Sundowners at 12 apostles balcony
Go and eat at the silo at the waterfront, fab views and food

Can't help much with other parts of the country but have fun

[phumy]

Bullet Dodging could be fun, as long as youre fast enough

Only joking...

[gtidriver]

We drove the garden route last August. Speed cameras everywhere, I received 4-5 small fines over the following months, grrr..Make sure that you have you driving license and passport to hand, the amount of police check points with 20-30 coppers on meant the likelihood of getting a pull if=s high, I was stopped twice.
Id recommend Table mountain, The Franschhoek Motor Museum, The Knysna Elephant Park Lodge, Chandelier Game Lodge, Cango Caves, Cango Wildlife Ranch, Monkey Land, Bungee Jump off of Bloukrans Bridge, Lawnwood Snake Sanctuary.